The Yorkshire Post [IC, Read Only]

[National Yorkshire]

The Yorkshire Post

---

The Yorkshire Post is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds in west Yorkshire. It covers the whole of Yorkshire but goes beyond just national news and its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's International Newspaper". Alongside The Scotsman it is one of the flagship titles owned by Johnston Press. Founded in 1754, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the country.

[National Yorkshire]

Gallows Constructed at Wakefield as extradition pacts withdrawn.

As per the 2049 Death Act passed by the Popular Chamber as a consequence to the 2048 referendum on whether to reinstate the death penalty, in which 'yes' won by 56% to 44%, the government has ordered that gallows be constructed at Wakefield Prison in case any hangings need to be carried out in the case that a person is sentenced to death.

Under the new law, which has been condemned by England, the EU, the UN and Amnesty International, a prisoner must be hanged within 30 days of their sentence, and they are given the chance for one appeal which, if they use, pushes back their execution date to 30 days after their appeal hearing in the case in which their appeal is rejected. The High Court shall also have the power to sentence people previously not condemned to death to death in the case that the Prosecution appeal the prior sentence and seek the death penalty. In the case they win, the same proceedings shall occur as if it was a normal death sentence handed down from the initial trial.

England, the EU and many other non-death penalty states have withdrawn absolute extradition pacts with Yorkshire as a result.

[National Yorkshire]

President rushed to Hospital

The 105 year old President Tony Downing has been rushed to York hospital today after he was found unconscious at his professional residence at 28 Gillygate, with what doctors believed was a stroke. He is now in a stable but critical condition and is recovering.

[National Yorkshire]

Breaking: President announces his Resignation

The 105 year old President who was rushed to hospital yesterday, has now announced his resignation. As he was still recovering from a stroke, he handed his daughter a handwrote copy of his speech and she spoke on his behalf:

"I will shortly leave the job that has been the honour of my life to hold. The first President of an independent Yorkshire, but certainly not the last. I do so with no ill will, but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love."

He will remain President until a new one is elected. The People's Chamber will narrow the candidate field down to two (if necessary), and then the two remaining candidates will be elected by the popular electorate in an election on September 30th.

[National Yorkshire]

Alun Cairns sentenced to 20 more years imprisonment on Murder charges

A photograph of Cairns in 2008 before he commited his alleged "atrocities" and "war crimes".

---

The President of the so-called English Republic during the Welsh War in the early 2020s has been sentenced by the international criminal court in The Hague to 20 years imprisonment for a new charge of Murder; Crime Against Humanity in addition to his current 35 year sentence for Genocide and other war crimes issued in 2047. However, the sentence is to be served concurrently to the 35 year term and thus the overall time the now 79 year-old spends in prison will remain the same. This new sentence occured because prosecutors chose to proceed with a charge they had decided to drop at the initial trial two years ago.

[National Yorkshire]

England agrees trade deal with the US

English Prime Minister Tracey Crouch has met with US President, Baron Trump, and has announced that they have "finished off the final touches" and have signed a trade deal which eliminates tariffs on the majority of American goods. The trade deal has been contraversial as many English MPs have accused Crouch of softening English regulations on agriculture and privatising sections of the National Health Service (NHS) in order to make the trade deal work. The EU has also claimed that the deal may come into conflict with the 2036 Nancy Agreement, which lowered tariffs between the EU, England and Wales.

Intentions to reach an agreement go all the way back to a proposed post-Brexit trade deal between then British Prime Minister Theresa May (and later Boris Johnson) and US President Donald Trump in the late 2010s, but negotiations for such a deal were called off due to the Irish War in 2021. Since Trump's son was elected in 2046, he has been determined to resurrect such a deal with the English and this time has been successful, but to the dismay of the EU and many English MPs

[National Yorkshire]

People's Chamber narrows candidate field down to Luke Charters-Reid and Steven Edginton

The candidate field for the head-to-head election for the President of Yorkshire following the resignation of Pres. Downing has been narrowed down to 2 final players for the popular vote on Monday, after candidate Judy Miller, 47, (National) received the least amount of nominations from the People's Chamber in the 3rd and final round of voting how to narrow the candidates down to 2.

This leaves Luke Charters-Reid, 52, (Labour) and Steven Edginton, 49, (National), to compete in Monday's election. Polls have been split over the matter of who will win, with 6 favouring Charters-Reid and 5 favouring Edginton, so there is an extremely high chance of either winning. The parties in the People's Chamber who previously had their nominees filtered out, the Libdems, Conservatives and Greens have all backed one of the current candidates, with the Greens and Libdems backing Charters-Reid and the Conservatives backing Edginton. Debates for the Presidency will take place over the coming days and hours.

[National Yorkshire]

Winner still unclear in presidential contest

The results of the election for the President of Yorkshire are still unclear, as, despite the polls closing at 10pm last night, one crucial precinct, Hull, is still yet to declare who won the ballot there. Currently, Labour candidate Luke Charters-Reid has 49.6% of the vote and National candidate Steven Edginton has 48.9% of the vote. Who gets to 50 all rides on how people voted in Hull.

The 1st local authority to declare their results was Selby at 11:52pm, which, as expected, announced that Edginton had won there by 55.8%, putting him in the lead overall. Barnsley declared for Edginton at 1:01am and Wakefield for Edginton at 1:29am. At 2am, both Rotheram and Doncaster declared for Edginton, and at the same time Leeds, York, Bradford and Sheffield all declared for Charters-Reid. At 2:25am Richmondshire declared for Edginton. Another batch of calls came in at 3am when Charters-Reid won a closely fought contest in Harrogate, and when Edginton won Craven, Ryedale and Kirklees. It was announced at 3:16am that Edginton had won Hambleton. By 4am it had been announced that Edgintion had won in the East Riding, and that Hull, Scarborough and Calderdale were the only LAs yet to finalise their results. At 4:11am it was announced that Edginton had won Scarborough but by a mere 50.2%, and at 5:57 am it was found that Edginton had also won Calderdale. However, despite Edginton's wins in most LAs, presidential elections occur by popular vote, and thus Charters-Reid is in the lead and Edginton needs to win Hull to become the 2nd president of an independent Yorkshire.

[National Yorkshire]

Hull confirms Edginton win, next President chosen

The precinct of Hull has declared that Edginton has won the majority of the vote there, bringing his total to 50.1% against Charters-Reid's 49.8%, in an extremely close an tense election night. The result came as a shock to some as, after five recounts, most expected a Charters-Reid win. Edginton has described the results as 'terrific', and says that being Yorkshire's figurehead will be 'the honour of his life to hold'.

However, Charters-Reid has not formally conceded and many suspect he will launch a legal challenge to what many in the Labour Party are calling a 'quick and dodgy' count of votes in Hull. His campaign team have not spoke to the press around these speculations as of the 3rd October 2049.

[National Yorkshire]

TONY DOWNING - DEAD AT AGE 106

Anthony Downing -- whose career in politics spanned more than three decades and culminated as the 1st President of an independent Yorkshire -- has died. His office says the former Prez passed away yesterday at 10:10 PM in Sheffield. His death comes less than 5 months after he left office due to health issues. He had been in declining health in recent years and was in and out of the hospital several times. He announced his resignation after he was admitted to hospital after a stroke in August 2049.

The former President notably sent a letter to then President-elect Steven Edginton in October 2049 saying he couldn't make the inauguration due to doctor's orders ... joking it would put him "six feet under" to sit outside in the cold.

Along with being President, Downing also served as the Lord Mayor of Sheffield and President of Yorkshire Autonomous Province before Yorkshire gained independence from England on June 3rd, 2036. Downing was inaugurated as the first President on the same day.

Tony was 106.

RIP.